“I came here knowing that I had to make a statement and deliver a knockout on FS1 and FOX Deportes,” said Barthelemy. “I controlled the fight from the opening bell and never lost focus.”

The brother of two-division world champion Rances, Barthelemy showed off his boxing skill by using his length and speed to dictate the action against Blanco. After a slow start, Blanco came alive in the third round and began increasing his offensive output, including a looping right hand that landed clean on Barthelemy’s head late in the round.

Blanco again pushed the action in round four and landed a sharp left hook, but Barthelemy took the shot and responded with a right hook of his own to end the round. Barthelemy continued to have success with his jab, and throwing combinations off of it, and eventually opened up a cut over Blanco’s right eye at the end of round eight.

Barthelemy was the fresher fighter as he entered the ninth round for the first time in his career and it showed as he dropped Blanco with a series of hard right hands early in the ninth round. Blanco was able to get to his feet but Barthelemy continued the onslaught, prompting Blanco’s corner to stop the fight at the official time of 1:30 of round nine.

“I feel like I’m the best up-and-coming fighter in the division,” said Barthelemy. “I’m ready to step up to the next level of competition.”

Davis came out aggressive from the start as he looked to close distance and attack Hernandez from the inside. It nearly backfired early as Hernandez wobbled Davis with a left hook and followed up with a right uppercut that put Davis in some early trouble.

The tide swung back towards Davis after the first two rounds with an increased attack to Hernandez’s body, which slowed down the offense of the Fresno-native. In round seven, a stray body shot from Davis was deemed low by referee Dan Stell, who deducted a point as Hernandez dropped to the canvas.

Despite the deduction, Davis was able to remain effective with his aggressive game plan as both fighters went past eight rounds for the first time in their pro careers. Hernandez appeared to hurt Davis midway through the final round with a left hook, but Davis was able to smother Hernandez as he went for the knockout.

After the end of ten rounds the judges awarded Davis a split decision by scores of 95-94 for Hernandez and 96-93 twice for Davis.

In the televised opener, unbeaten prospect Malcolm McAllister (9-0, 8 KOs) overcame a knockdown in the final round to earn a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Alejandro Torres (9-2-2, 4 KOs) in their six-round super welterweight clash.

McAllister was in control of the fight throughout the first five rounds using his jab to control the distance and beat Torres to the punch consistently. He began landing more strong right hands in the third round and continued to box effectively while building a lead on the scorecards.

The fight changed drastically early in the sixth and final round as Torres got the better of an exchange of power punches and connected with a massive left hook that stunned McAllister and sent him to the canvas. The Long Beach-native was able to get to his feet but was still shaky as Torres stalked him around the ring.

With a combination of clinches, jabs and movement, McAllister was able to finish the round on his feet despite Torres’ advances. The knockdown was not enough to derail McAllister as he won the decision by the score of 58-55 on all three judges’ cards.

In an action fight against his fiercest pro opponent yet, Jose Ramirez rose to the occasion and claimed a vacant junior welterweight belt Saturday night, outpointing Amir Imam by unanimous decision in the Top Rank ESPN main event.

Oleksandr "The Nail" Gvozdyk spent most of the fight with Mehdi Amar nailing him with an assortment of combinations to claim a vacant interim light heavyweight world title, and Michael Conlan scored an impressive KO victory to stay unbeaten.

Bob Arum and Don King, the most prominent promoters in boxing history, have butted heads for decades. But they are friendly rivals these days and enjoy talking over old times and telling their war stories.

Floyd Mayweather says he will begin training "soon" for a transition into mixed martial arts and that he already has been in contact with UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley about working together in the near future.

Isaac Dogboe's father, Paul, apologized for his remarks aimed at his son's opponent, Jessie Magdaleno, in which he said his son would throw the Mexican descendant "over the wall of Mexico and present the title to Donald Trump."

Gennady Golovkin was in disbelief when Canelo Alvarez tested positive for a banned substance. Along with Golovkin's trainer, Abel Sanchez, they used the word "disappointment," not about Alvarez, but his team.

Golden Boy and Top Rank have signed a deal for Jorge Linares to defend his 135-pound crown against Vasyl Lomachenko, who will move up from 130 pounds, on May 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York, sources said.

Oscar Valdez kept his belt against Scott Quigg but paid a high price for it as the Mexican featherweight champion had to have his jaw wire shut days after Saturday's bloody fight. Valdez's manager said it was unclear as to when he'd be back in the ring.

Mikey Garcia won a world title in his fourth weight class with his victory over Sergey Lipinets and must now decide which direction he wants to go with a number of potential opponents at different weight classes on his radar.